Acer has won a contract with the Queensland Department of Education and Training to provide up to 65,000 notebooks to schools for the third round of the National Secondary School Computer Fund.

The Acer Aspire 1830T (Credit: Acer)

The laptops to be deployed are Acer Aspire 1830T notebooks, which are to be delivered by the end of the year. Acer's laptops were selected because of their weight and battery life, but also because of their connectivity.

"The implementation of HSPA+ 3G technology in the Acer Aspire 1830T notebook delivers a host of benefits and is a key component to the educational development of Queensland students. They are better equipped to access rich multimedia, websites and school material whilst away from the school's network," Charles Chung, managing director, Acer Computer Australia said.

Acer will also provide Computrace licence protection to foil theft and a notebook bag from Targus.

The department's CIO David O'Hagan said the roll-out of 3G-enabled devices would be a first.

"A roll-out of high-end, 3G laptops has never been done before in Australia, let alone on this scale. This 3G initiative will ensure more than 60,000 state high school students have access to the department's online learning environment, anywhere and at any time," O'Hagan said.

"The decision to purchase 3G laptops means students will have better access to important online resources, resulting in improved learning outcomes, collaboration and greater opportunity for personalised learning," O'Hagan continued.

As of 30 June, 579,879 laptops had been delivered to students across Australia. This represented approximately 75 per cent of the total roll-out, with around 200,000 laptops to deliver before the end of the year.